Jenna. Dec 23. At the car wash!
Sing it with me!
Add comment December 23rd, 2010
Posts filed under 'Kennedy'
Jenna. Dec 21. Cookie Decorating.
A friend from church was so kind to invite us over for some Christmas cookie decorating. I know the kids enjoyed playing in the icing, eating the icing, and then dousing the cookies with sprinkles. And I enjoyed eating.
Add comment December 21st, 2010
Jenna. Dec 20. Fun with friends.
Today we got to keep Henry & Ollie while their mommy & daddy welcomed baby sister Lucy into the world. Henry & Colby are a few months apart, and Ollie & Carlee are a few months apart. I love getting to hang out with their mommy, and my kids love getting to hang out with these boys.
[Notice their Big Brother shirts.] :)
1 comment December 20th, 2010
Jenna. Dec 19. Gingerbread Man.
Colby’s Kindergarten teacher gave him a copy of The Gingerbread Man on Thursday. He brought it home, read it, and then began asking when we could make gingerbread cookies. So, today was the day. [I'm always happy to oblige when it comes to baking, especially cookies and also especially at Christmastime.]
Here’s Colby reading the story while the cookies are in the oven.
Here’s Kennedy’s finished product – she made a few mini-houses (with the help of a cookie cutter but Carlee tried to rip them apart anyway) and a Gingerbread Girl, complete with bow, that took up 1/2 of the cookie sheet! [We watched the Girl to make sure she didn't run away!]
And, Kennedy is on a picture-taking streak… here’s a great one she took of her funny Daddy.
Add comment December 19th, 2010
Jenna. Dec 18. Florida Family.
Today we were graced with the presence of my cousin Lin and her husband Keith and their four children – Aubrey, Amanda, Garner, & Avery. I didn’t get too many pics but we laughed until our sides hurt and ate our annual Feliz Navidad dinner of chili, enchiladas, guacamole, taco salad, and a cornucopia of pies.
Here’s Colby with Garner (age 13). Can you see the family resemblance?
And Kennedy wanted her pic taken. In the background, you can see Lin & Aubrey (age 20).
This is Avery (age 10). Kennedy took a lot of Avery pics that looked a whole lot like this.
Katrina and Amanda (age 16) went to see a one-act play that night, so I didn’t get Amanda’s pic. Interesting fact: Kevin and I got married on Amanda’s birthday. So, we can always remember how old she is, because she turned 8 that year.
We are looking forward to seeing these Florida cousins again this next summer!
Add comment December 18th, 2010
Jenna. Dec 17. Amanda visit + casserole.
Two very random and completely unrelated things happened today.
[I suppose that's the true definition of random, right?]
Anyway, Amanda came over and borrowed my wireless internet. Don’t worry, she gave it back. Then I made the casserole pictured below out of pretty much everything in my freezer. I called it Leftover Casserole. (I wasn’t feeling too imaginative.) It had: frozen peas, frozen carrots, cooked pork + carrots, frozen corn, frozen black beans, frozen bell peppers, and frozen orange peppers; layered with tortillas, sour cream & cheese. I thoroughly enjoyed the casserole and it was such a nice way to use up ingredients that I had lingering in my freezer, that would never make a whole recipe of anything else.
Also, Kennedy took this pic of Amanda. Kennedy actually took a couple of pics of Amanda but most were blurry. This was the best one and of course, Amanda’s eyes are closed!
Add comment December 17th, 2010
Jenna. Dec 16. Colby’s Christmas party.
Today Colby’s Kindergarten had a party. His teacher gave each of them a small milk carton or a butter box and some icing and graham crackers; it was instant “gingerbread house” – worthy. The girls got to help a little but mostly they wanted to eat all the decorations.
Then, his class had a book swap, which to Kindergarteners means you pick a number and then take the book with the coordinating number on it. I was impressed that all the kids did so well – they were so focused in getting those houses decorated!
Add comment December 16th, 2010
Jenna. Dec 15. Kennedy’s Christmas dance.
Today at dance, Kennedy’s class did their Christmas show-and-tell. The parents were invited inside the studio so we could watch and video them. I had to stand by the door and keep Carlee from running into camera shots, so I got a lot of video clips and pictures of the back side of Kennedy’s class.
They’re still cute, nonetheless.
Carlee wants to dance too!
Kennedy reminds me of ME when I was 3 and in dance class. It’s a little strange [and yet wonderful!] to ‘look into the mirror’.
Add comment December 15th, 2010
Jenna. Dec 12. Forgotten pics…
I realize I’m cheating here but I thought these were neat. On the plane back from our trip to Disney World, we had a short stop-over in Panama City, FL, and the pilot asked if any kids wanted to come and tour the cockpit. Kevin took Colby & Kennedy in and took these pics.
[Technically from November 28th.]
What did we really do today? Tonight was our church’s Christmas musical. Earlier this week I got to hold Baby Jesus (aka Jenny), age 3 weeks. And, today it was 40 degrees outside, so it’s actually beginning to look a lot like Christmas…
Add comment December 12th, 2010
Jenna. Dec 11. Tree!
This year is the first year we have been able to set up our artificial tree, put on the lights, and decorate it with ornaments all in one afternoon. Why? We had help! The kids loved to help with all parts of the Christmas tree making. I loved watching them.
[Kevin had the hard job of lifting the kids up to put the ornaments on.]
I love our tree. Kevin’s parents gave us this tree when we got married, and they used it for some years prior. So, I really have no idea how old it is, but I’d consider it an antique. It’s so pretty.
Add comment December 11th, 2010
Jenna. Dec 9. Kennedy singing.
Today the CBS kids sang songs for the Moms. I was holding Carlee and taking this picture of Kennedy with my iPhone. Kennedy did great and sang very well. If I ever learn how to put videos on the blog, I’ll show you one.
1 comment December 9th, 2010
Jenna. Dec 7. Daddy’s little helpers.
Kevin made a dessert for his company’s yearly dessert bake-off. He had 3 sous chefs this year.
Add comment December 7th, 2010
Jenna. Dec 1. Mail time.
Colby can reach the mailbox now, so his sisters fight over who gets to carry the mail back to the house. Kennedy’s already in the house. I’m not really sure what happened to Colby in this picture, but Carlee is wearing Kennedy’s shoes, so everyone’s coming back inside all crazy-like.
Add comment December 1st, 2010
Jenna. Nov 29. Bible reading.
I took a picture of Kevin reading The Jesus Storybook Bible. I very much enjoy this version of the Bible – the subtitle is “every story whispers His Name”, and I love love LOVE that on so many different levels.
This pic was taken during dinner, but I’ve been trying to read them a Bible story during lunch. I have had a hard time with lunch lately – we come home after picking up Colby from school [he's done at 12:30], and no matter how many snacks we eat in the morning, everyone is tired and starving (including me). It also seemed like once I got everyone’s lunches ready, the kids were ready to get down from the table and I hadn’t eaten a bite of food. And that left me frustrated and even more hungry, so here’s my solution:
- kids decide what they want to eat – I will give them 2 options but they cannot change their minds once they’ve picked.
- kids get out the accessible ingredients (ex. PBJ, fruit, chips).
- Mom gets out ingredients/food that needs to be heated in the microwave; kids punch in the numbers.
- Mom finishes assembly and plates food.
- kids wash hands (or go to the sink so I can wash their hands).
- kids set the table (plates, cups + water, napkins and silverware if necessary).
- kids get out the Bible and decide which story to read. One kid gets the Bible, one kid picks the story, and one kid gets to turn the pages or see the pics first (didn’t think we’d need this rule, but everyone wanted to do the same job, so I had to split it all up.)
We sit down, we pray, the kids talk to each other while I eat, and then I read from the Bible after the first 5-7 minutes of eating. It has helped us be more on the same page, so to speak, and eat lunch together, not in shifts.
And, notice how many of those things are the responsibility of the kids? And I haven’t had many arguments about who got more food or got to pray first or whatever else they might choose to complain about; plus, I get to actually eat food with my kids before they need to sleep! Now, I need to figure out how to get them to make their own PBJ…
Add comment November 29th, 2010
Jenna. Nov 28. Calendar of Thanks.
I can’t believe I made it almost all the way through November without posting about our daily thanks calendar. I ordered this from Pottery Barn Kids last year.
The kids have written some pretty hilarious things, but mostly this year they’ve been thankful for Disney World, for Mom & Dad (and siblings!), and for things like food and their trampoline. It’s so neat to hear how they are thankful, and I think that comes from asking them to say “thank you” and to really mean it. The sweetest child is a thankful child, I say.
And, here’s a close-up on the cute details of the calendar. This is just an idea for giving thanks – you don’t have to buy this calendar in order to be thankful! Make your own felt calendar or make a thankful tree or keep your notes of thanks in a jar. You’re also not limited to the month of November to give thanks either. Be thankful continually!
Add comment November 28th, 2010